Chapter 26: Painful Decision

Ivy’s POV

My head throbbed as I opened my eyes to see myself in a huge room, velvet curtains drawn tight, and a gold-plated chandelier hanging above the ceiling. A familiar scent filled my nose immediately.

I sat up slowly, for a second I didn’t know the last thing that happened or how the hell I got here. Then the memory hit me — the struggle with that man at the cabin before he knocked me out.

No.

It better not be what I was thinking; this room looked too familiar, like Cassian’s bedroom. I’d seen it before, the night I had barged in on him fucking Erica, now it felt like a cage disguised as comfort.

I tried to move, but my legs wouldn't let me as pain instantly shot through my ribs. The bandage was still in place, but the wound appeared to be worsening.

Then I heard it — slow, deliberate footsteps as the door opened. Cassian stepped inside looking calm and composed as usual, he was dressed in a black shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows.

His lip was split, which of course was a result of the brutal fight between him and Adrain that night. “Welcome home, my love,” he said softly. He feigned a terrible smile that never reached his eyes.

I didn’t answer, at least I couldn’t. Not when my heart is torn between rage and anger over the way Adrian had abandoned me and run away.

He walked closer to me, his eyes over me like I was some priceless possession, “You’re awake sooner than I thought. I was almost hoping you’d sleep for a very long time because you’ve been through a lot.”

“Where’s Adrian?” My voice came out hoarse.

Cassian tilted his head, studying me. “You mean the man who left you bleeding in a cabin?” A bitter laughter tore out of him as he continued, “I’d be careful calling his name around my house.”

“Don’t—”

He didn’t let me finish before his hand came up, fingers tracing the side of my face coldly and gently—too gently.

“Now you finally see where running away from me gets you,” he murmured.

I flinched, but he didn’t stop. If anything his thumb brushed the corner of my mouth, as if testing whether I’d bite him or accept it. “I would have given you everything. Safety. Love. Loyalty.”

“You call this love?” I shot back.

But his smile grew even more, “It’s the only kind that lasts.” He moved closer until there was no inch of space between us, then his voice dropped to a whisper, low enough that it felt like it was meant for me alone.“You know what’s funny?” he murmured.

His breath ghosting against my cheek, “Adrian thought he could save you from me. That’s what he does — plays the hero, writes his tragedy. But when it mattered…”His lips brushed the edge of my ear, “He ran.”

I clenched my fists, my pulse roaring in my throat as I parted my lips to speak, “You’re lying.”

Cassian’s laughter thundered across the room as he stepped back, just far enough for me to see his eyes — gleaming like a blade under the chandelier lights. “Am I?” he asked, “He’s still out there, isn’t he? Bleeding while he hides from me. Probably halfway gone by now….but if he really loved you, Ivy…”

He tilted his head. “Don’t you think he’d be here?” The words landed like a knife that cut me deeper and deeper, I wanted to scream, to hit him and say that’s it’s all a fucking lie. That Adrain would come back for me no matter what.

Cassian’s tone shifted into something softer now, almost tender. The kind of voice that could make you forget the kind of monster that he is, “Stop fighting this, Ivy,” he said. “You just need to stop pretending that he didn’t betray you.”

He knelt in front of me in a graceful but predatory manner, one hand came up to brush a loose strand of hair from my face, tucking it gently behind my ear.

While his other hand traced my jaw—not in a forceful, but in a kind of seductive way, “You’ve always belonged here,” he whispered. “With me.”

My breath hitched.

“Everything else,” he continued, “was just a dream that you believed in. Adrian, freedom, choice…” His smile deepened, slow and poisonous, “But dreams fade, Ivy. I’m the only thing that’s ever going to be real.”

He leaned closer as his lips were inches away from mine now. “I would never leave you when you need me the most, Ivy. Because I’m the only one that truly loves you…not that bastard.” His hand cupped the side of my neck in a possessive way—and I felt my pulse thrum against his palm.

“You can hate me,” he said softly, “but at least you can’t deny the fact that you feel something for me. What do you feel when you look at him now? Pity?”His eyes pierced into mine, fire and ice all at once.

I stared at him, every muscle in my body shaking not just from fear, but from the storm inside me. No matter how much I didn’t want to accept it Cassian was telling the truth, as his thumb brushed my lower lip something else began to stir beneath the terror.

Something darker that I didn’t want to name. And that’s when I realized—Cassian didn’t just want my obedience, he wanted me to surrender to him.

Fine.

If he wanted obedience, I’d give him the kind that burned, I forced myself to breathe evenly, “Then maybe I’m tired of pretending,” my voice shaking just enough to sound real.

I looked up to meet his eyes, “If you want me so badly… if you want this… then I’ll marry you.”

For a heartbeat, he didn’t move before a slow, satisfied smile curved his mouth. “You’re ready to marry me?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “Tomorrow.”

Cassian’s eyes gleamed with victory as he spoke, “Tomorrow,” he repeated, almost as if he couldn’t believe I was really saying this.

“But on one condition.” I shot back.

His smile faded slightly but he still forced himself to speak. “Go on.”

“I need you to give me your word that Adrian won’t be killed when you find him.” Cassian’s jaw clenched, “That’s not how this works.”

“It is if you want me to belong to you forever,” I said, my voice a mix of half-please, half-dare, “You said you love me, didn’t you? Then prove it. Don’t touch him.”

He studied me for a long, tense second, before he finally exhaled. “You hate him now. Don’t you?” I didn’t want to answer the question because I myself had no response for it, but I forced myself and met his gaze.

“Yes. I hate him for betraying me.” I forced the lie through my teeth.

“Say it again,” he whispered, his lips almost touching mine now.

“I hate him,” I repeated, “for leaving me when I needed him the most,” I swallowed hard. “So let him live. Let him see me marry you and know that I belong to only you now. My body. My heart. All of it.”

Cassian smiled — slow, deadly, “That would be the perfect punishment.”

“Exactly.”

He reached out, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip. “Now that’s my girl.”

My heart pounded recklessly but I didn’t flinch. Not as he pressed a kiss to my forehead and whispered against my skin, “We’re getting married tomorrow, then.”